Up until about the first week in August, the summer was unrelenting here in Charlotte, North Carolina, with afternoon and early evening temperatures being in the mid-90s to low 100s, and the "feel like" temperatures, of course, making it feel even more miserable, right along with the humidity.
Rarely a day went by that our air conditioning system wasn't working overtime for a big chunk of the day to help Mom and me feel cooler. And there were some days that even with the AC on, you could still feel the heat in the air, something that doesn't go away, no matter how nice your AC system may be.
But in early August, we had a two-week spell where we were getting clouds and rain nearly every day, which caused temperatures to drop and made some of the days feel like late spring or early fall. It felt really good.
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I'm an autumn girl. Used to be a summer girl in part because I grew up near the North Carolina beaches, but that changed for the most part when I was in my mid-40s and began going through all the changes women go through around that time in their lives (I'll spare you the dramatic details). I've spent most summers since then yearning for fall to arrive.
As is sometimes the case, however, the summer will provide us with a tantalizing teaser of what is soon to come when the seasons officially change. That was the case earlier this month, and according to weather forecasts, it'll happen again for the rest of the month:
First Alert: No more 90s for #CLT during the month of August. Just the opposite...we'll be cool & dry with low humidity as we close out the month & roll into September. #NCwx #SCwx #CLTwx pic.twitter.com/nW8VUqBmcm
— Al Conklin WBTV (@AlConklin) August 22, 2025
Next week looks amazing! #cltwx #ncwx #scwx #wcnc pic.twitter.com/L4c4sdpxmQ
— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) August 22, 2025
I am, of course, so here for it.
I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to more once September rolls around: all the pumpkin-flavored goodies - including the muffins and cookies, the change in decor around the house, the leaves on the trees changing color and eventually covering the ground, the arrival of Thanksgiving, or simply the fact that the weather will be cooler to the point that it makes you either want to burrow under the bedcovers, or go for a walk to get a good whiff of that crisp fall air.
#Autumn greetings from Oscar, Wilma, and Lester Toldjah. 🦉🍁🍃🍂 #owls #fall pic.twitter.com/EIJtREHiNq
— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) September 23, 2017
One other thing I want to try to do this fall, if we can swing it from a logistical standpoint, is to take mom on a trip to the mountains. We're close enough that we could make a day trip out of it, leaving early in the morning, getting there in time to enjoy a few sights, sounds, tastes, and smells, and then starting back in time to hopefully get home before nightfall.
We used to take short family trips to the mountains when I was younger, and it's hard to believe that probably 15 years ago or so, on what I believe was the last trip the three of us took together there, mom, dad, and I did the equivalent of a hike to one of the waterfalls. Dad did a bit of grumbling about it along the way because the trail was a little longer than we thought it would be, but he ended up enjoying it, along with the apples we brought home from the trip.
Ah, memories. So much has changed since then, but we have to try and make the best of the time we have, you know?
